On the day Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk won the undisputed heavyweight title, fellow Ukrainian Denys Berinchyk defeated Emanuel Navarrete by split decision to win the vacant WBO lightweight world title.
Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs) prevailed by scores of 116-112 and 115-113, while Navarrete won on the third card, 116-112.
Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) failed in his attempt to become the sixth four-division, Mexican-born world champion.
Berinchyk used his footwork well to find his distance as Navarette moved forward with his shots He peppered the Mexican with quick counterpunches and prevented Navarrete from launching a sustained body attack in the early rounds.
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Navarrete upped his offence in the last half of the fight, but 36-year-old Olympian Berinchyk continued to make him miss before connecting with compact, effective punches.
“This is great, my friend. This is great. Great boxing,” Berinchyk said. “Great fight. Navarrete, muchas gracias.”
Navarrete said: “It was something new for me. Like I always said, it would be difficult. Denys is a great fighter. He made me struggle a lot. And you saw what happened. But I’m happy with how I fought. I know that I need to improve.
“I’m not sad. I know it was a test. I needed to do more, but I know that I can do more. So, I congratulate him on his win. I’m happy because I tried things out at 135 pounds, and I know I will be strong at this division.”
Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) secured the WBO Interim welterweight world title with a 10th-round knockout over Giovani Santillan (32-1, 17 KOs).
Santillan was the aggressor in the clash, but Norman’s quick counters and clinching nullified his offence. Santillan tried to make the most of it by punching inside the clinch, but this provided the openings for Norman to counter.
In the eighth, Norman hurt Santillan with a left hook. This changed the tide decisively to Norman’s favor, as he rallied with combinations.
In the 10th, Norman landed a counter uppercut that dropped Santillan, who rose off the deck to be dropped by another, more devastating uppercut that floored him and ended the fight.
Norman was ahead on all three scorecards, 89-82, 88-83 and 86-85.
Norman said: “He was pressing but not hitting s**t. I made him miss and made him pay. I like going to other people’s hometowns and taking what they have. Whoever they have next for me, I’m ready for the challenge.”
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk had an epic battle for the undisputed heavyweight world titles and a repeat is available at 10pm on Sunday May 19. Book the repeats on Sky Sports Box Office now.
